# Kevin McCarthy has died **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 13, 2010, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-mccarthy-has-died/553545 "2010-09-13T00:07:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2010, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-mccarthy-has-died/553545/1 "2010-09-13T00:07:48Z")
I know him from UHF, but most know him from Invasion of the Body Snatchers. He was 96 [School of Business(UHF)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpKmrF5GGl8&feature=player_embedded) ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2010, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-mccarthy-has-died/553545/2 "2010-09-13T00:15:28Z")
Hard to imagine he was that old. :::looks at self:::: Holy Moly. When did this happen? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![evilbeth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/evilbeth/32/2268_2.png) [@evilbeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evilbeth)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2010, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-mccarthy-has-died/553545/3 "2010-09-13T01:37:34Z")
I always think of him in Twilight Zone: The Movie. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2010, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-mccarthy-has-died/553545/4 "2010-09-13T01:40:11Z")
I always think of him in Invasion of the Body Snatchers. And of course Kansas City Bombers. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2010, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-mccarthy-has-died/553545/5 "2010-09-13T02:33:45Z")
Damn – I didn’t realize he was that old. He was in lots of movies most people don’t remember, like **Mirage** , which is like **Charade** ’s dark twin. he really started getting recognition, I think, when he got older, and everyone seemed to remember him from Invasion of the Body Snatchers. That’s when he got parts in **inner Space** and **UHF** and other flicks. he re-played his Body Snatchers persona twice – in the 1978 Philip Kaufman remake, and again in 2003’s **Looney Tunes…Back in Action**. It’s like he did it every 25 years or so. It looks as if he won’t be doing it in 2028, though. Bummer. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2010, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-mccarthy-has-died/553545/6 "2010-09-13T02:36:43Z")
Body Snatchers is his iconic role. He was all over the small screen in the 60’s and 70’s. He seemed to be made for B&W TV. So long Kevin. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2010, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-mccarthy-has-died/553545/7 "2010-09-13T03:14:00Z")
Kevin McCarthy is dead. [Long live Walter Jameson.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Live_Walter_Jameson) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2010, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-mccarthy-has-died/553545/8 "2010-09-13T08:39:06Z")
I’m embarassed to say this is one of those times when my reaction is “he was alive?” ---
**Author:** ![Leiko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Leiko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leiko)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2010, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-mccarthy-has-died/553545/9 "2010-09-13T10:23:01Z")
He’s one of my favorite parts about UHF, and it’s sad to see him go. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2010, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-mccarthy-has-died/553545/10 "2010-09-13T15:35:09Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I’m embarassed to say this is one of those times when my reaction is “he was alive?” That’s known in the dead-pooling world as the “Abe Vigoda Syndrome.” ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2010, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-mccarthy-has-died/553545/11 "2010-09-13T16:34:40Z")
He and his first wife are mentioned a lot in any biography of Montgomery Clift- they were really good friends back in the day. In later years he and Conrad _Diff’rent Strokes_ Bain and their wives were a foursome. (She’s a lot younger than he is- great that he had two kids after he was 65 and lived to see them grown.) ---
**Author:** ![bafaa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e480ec/32.png) [@bafaa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bafaa)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2010, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-mccarthy-has-died/553545/12 "2010-09-13T16:39:36Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I’m embarassed to say this is one of those times when my reaction is “he was alive?” I had the same reaction. I remember him most for Invasion of the Body Snatchers. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2010, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-mccarthy-has-died/553545/13 "2010-09-13T17:04:22Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > That’s known in the dead-pooling world as the “Abe Vigoda Syndrome.” Bad news: Millions of people have this malady. Good news: They can all be cured with a single shot. Mentally I’d put Kevin McCarthy in a small group starting off as serious actors but later in life you came to realize they really had some marvelous comedic talent as well, right there with Peter Graves, Leslie Nielsen, Caroll O’Conner, etc. Shame to see him go. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2010, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-mccarthy-has-died/553545/14 "2010-09-13T17:28:32Z")
McCarthy did a lot of window dressing roles in the 1980s and 1990s like playing the father or grandfather in horny teen comedies or the corrupt senator in cheesy political movies. He had the looks and believability for it and I’m sure it paid well. ---
**Author:** ![fusoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@fusoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fusoya)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2010, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-mccarthy-has-died/553545/15 "2010-09-13T18:41:34Z")
Man, such a weird coincidence. I was just watching The Weird Al Show yesterday (he’s the mayor in the 60% Chance of Rain movie) and was wondering if that guy was still around. I guess the grim reaper heard my thought bubble and checked in on him ☹ … I had no idea he was that old. He looked really good for someone 75+ years old in UHF. ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2010, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-mccarthy-has-died/553545/16 "2010-09-13T20:59:14Z")
I thought I told you I wanted a ROLEX! A ROLEX! ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2010, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-mccarthy-has-died/553545/17 "2010-09-13T23:47:16Z")
Wow. We just saw INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS a few weeks ago – my wife for the first time, me for the Nth. And the DVD had a “special feature” that included pieces of a fairly long interview with him, he didn’t look that old (of course, I dunno when that interview was…) He made some interesting comments. Sad. ---
**Author:** ![Susanann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@Susanann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susanann)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-mccarthy-has-died/553545/18 "2010-09-14T01:30:19Z")
> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > Kevin McCarthy is dead. [Long live Walter Jameson.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Live_Walter_Jameson) I guess I am not the only one who thought \*\*Long Live Walter Jameson \*\* was a really great film. _“For the DVD release Kevin McCarthy returned to record an audio commentary for the episode, revealing that he never met Rod Serling and that aside from Invasion of the Body Snatchers **his appearance in this episode generated the most fan mail he ever received**.”_ ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-mccarthy-has-died/553545/19 "2010-09-14T06:13:41Z")
In the “Rule of Threes” with celebrities death [Glenn Shadix](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0787187/), Kevin McCarthy, and [Harold Gould\*](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0332390/) make a great trio of “That’s _that_ guy” actors. They should have a lot to talk about in the green room. \*Death date not added as of post time but it was on the news ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/kevin-mccarthy-has-died/553545/20 "2010-09-14T07:21:20Z")
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